Wednesday, June 3, 2015

ACW Union(15mm)

Perhaps some of you remember when I mentioned overhauling my 15mm ACW collection awhile back which was in desperate need of this(follow the Link). Errr.... it only took me a few years to finally start! Anyhow, I finally have some results to show in a few union regiments. Well.... actually I have more already completed, but I'll break it all down by posting a few regiments at a time to keep things neat and tidy so to speak.

The figures are all Old Glory 15mm and are still good sculpts after all these years with some having odd positions, but I can live with that. At one point a thought about selling it all and switching to either 10mm or starting the excellent Blue Moon 18mm, but realized that would be a fools errand for me when I already have so many Old Glory figures at least with a basic paint job to work from and many more in bags which made doing it in another range/scale both time and cost prohibitive. 

These were the first figures I collected for historical wargaming way back in the day and so one can imagine they needed a painting update and complete new basing! However the figures were at least neatly block painted, but that was about it folks. Needless to say nowadays I need a more depth to my figures then that so I decided to simply give them a wash and add a highlight and I must say I'm pleased with the results. The basing was awful which consisted of green flock and reddish brown paint. Of course that too had to change and I decided to go for a light summer day basing and again I'm pleased with how that came out as well. I then replaced the tattered flags I had with some lovely GMB  designs flags which really helps the collection to shine. I decided that my goal with 15mm ACW was to achieve tabletop effect rather then glass case painting so I skipped a middle tone and used a base darker tone followed by a wash and then a bright/brighter highlight. Viewed up close it doesn't look grade A+, however when viewed from the tabletop looks quite good as the stronger contrasts help them stand out from the terrain. I feel at smaller scales you have to paint in higher contrasts or the figures fade into the table. I also believe lighter coloured bases and tabletops are needed at smaller scales then 28mm, but even there lighter is generally better as well. So far, I'm quite pleased with how things are turning out and to tell the truth better then I expected. The reason is simple in that when I was painting them I was always looking up close seeing the flaws and it wasn't until I was finished and looking at them from a gaming distance before I could see the effect they really gave. This of course has given me motivation to plough on with the overhaul which is always a good thing.:-)

Does this mean the end of 28mmACW?.....No not a chance! I'm simply a ACW nutter and feel compelled to do it in two scales. I plan on using 15mm ACW for F&F and RF&F to fight historical battles and with the high base count it makes sense to do this in 15mm and the fact that I've been playing it using this system and at this scale for more years then I care to count! For 28mm ACW I'll be using Longstreet, Black Powder etc. Stay tuned for more to follow!

Thanks for viewing!:-)
Miniature Company-Old Glory

40 comments :

  1. They will do just fine, Christopher! Look forward to seeing more!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looking very very nice Christopher! I have been toying with the idea of rebasing my 15mm collection, this may just be the motivation I need!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Rodger! I'd very interested to see your 15mm!

      Christopher

      Delete
  3. Lovely 15mm ACW Christopher!

    ReplyDelete
  4. your ACW Old Glory 15's look great Christopher! looking forward to your painted Bluemoon minis i.e. confederates? ;o)

    cheers,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you kindly Phil! As I said I won't be switching to Blue Moon as I already have so much 15mm Old Glory so my armies will be 90% Old Glory, however I will add few Blue Moon pieces to the collection like the hospital and wagon sets and a few other things as they are very nice.

      Christopher

      Delete
  5. These look great, Christopher. For large scale battles, 15mm is definitely the better choice than 28mm. The painting for 15's seem to require a slightly different painting technique - maybe more contrasting highlights, etc.? You've certainly mastered it, in any case.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks a bunch Dean and yes I think at the smaller scales more contrast is needed to bring out the figures on the tabletop and is the direction I've been going for the little guys.

      Christopher

      Delete
  6. Hey Chris, good to see those mini to get this oberhaul. They pretty fine. Next time we meet, I have to take a look a them. Seeing them also made me interested in gaming my first reg. F&F. Perhaps something for summer holidays in August, if you have the time.
    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sascha and for sure you are invited to play RF&F which will happen sometime this summer when Franz gets a chance to break away from work and we can run a scenario.

      Christopher

      Delete
  7. You should be pleased indeed, they look great! Its funny when you start thinking about how much has happened in the hobby the last ten years or so. Not only to the quality and variety of minis, but also to the tools - paints, washes and basing material. I think we can proclaim a Golden Age of Miniatures hobby :0)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Sören! Considering these sculpts are probably around 25 years old or so and are still quite fine miniatures says a lot about them, but I agree the quality of the hobby has really exploded in the past 10 years or so.

      Christopher

      Delete
  8. Love those OG sculpts, still think they are some of the best 15mm ACW figures around

    ReplyDelete
  9. Very high quality all round :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Wow Christopher, you have done a great job on those Unionists. You can certainly create a more imposing sea of blue(or grey and browns!!!) in this scale.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Chris! Yes the little guys do give that more army effect don't they.:-) It seems we both are doing a little 15mm at the moment.

      Christopher

      Delete
    2. Ha Ha yes indeed, maybe are little efforts might make15mm all the rage!

      Delete
    3. Who knows anything is possible.:-)

      Christopher

      Delete
  11. Let me say this overhaul definitely has paid off! I'll have acloser look on friday.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you kindly Nick and this will allow you a sneak peak at some of the other things I've done already.

      Christopher

      Delete
  12. Those are most excellent, Christopher. Nothing wrong with doing a period in different scales - I know people who do Napoleonics in 15mm and 25mm!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Giles! Some periods are worth doing in two scales to get different effects. The smaller the figure the bigger the battle and the bigger the more localized. In addition to ACW I also do WWII in two scales.

      Christopher

      Delete
  13. Lovely Christopher, just like my brothers OG ACW!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Your resurrected Federals look grand! Having recently begun a similar update to about 700 of my Old Glory 15mm Austrians (still more to update), it is very rewarding to bring them closer your own state of the art painting levels.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Jonathan! Yes it's alnost like getting new figures again.

      Christopher

      Delete